Warning device

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a warning device for vehicles comprising a rectangular warning sign of flexible material two rods for reinforcing opposite edges of the sign, each rod having a flat surface and an outwardly projecting curved surface; two elastic bands affixed to the ends of the reinforcing rods, respectively, and extending adjacent to flat surfaces thereof; hook-like members coupled to a center portion of respective elastic bands and each having a projecting hook shaped according to the curved surface, so as in the rolled condition of the device the hooks are substantially levelled with the curved surface whereas in the displayed position thereof the hooks serve for the attachment to the vehicle.

O United States Patent 1 1 3,763,585

Mosch *Oct. 9, 1973 WARNING DEVICE Primary Examiner1-Iugh R. Chamblee 76I t Alf dM h442P 1 St t, 1 men or g fi d 25 me Assistant ExammerJ. A.Ollff t Attorney-Ernest F. Marmorek Notice: The portion of the term ofthis patent subsequent to July 27, 1988, [57] ABSTRACT has beendlsclalmed' Disclosed is a warning device for vehicles comprising [22]Filed: May 6, 1971 a rectangular warning sign of flexible material tworods for reinforcing opposite edges of the sign, each [21] Appl' 140657rod having a flat surface and an outwardly projecting Related US.Application Data curved surface; two elastic bands affixed to the ends[63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 741,970, July 2, of the reinforcingrods, respectively, and extending 1968, Pat. No. 3,594,938. jacent toflat surfaces thereof; hook-like members coupled to a center portion ofrespective elastic bands [52] US. Cl 40/129 C an each having aprojecting hook shaped according [51] Int. Cl. G09f 7/00 to he rvesurface, so as in the rolled condition of [58] Fi ld f S h 40/ 125 F,128, 129 R, the device the hooks are substantially levelled with the 40/129 A, 129 C curved surface whereas in the displayed position thereofthe hooks serve for the attachment to the vehi- [56] References Citedcle.

UNITED STATES PATENTS gfig m fi j gfigfi ifi' 3,594,938 7/1971 Mosch40/129 C 2,437,845 3/1948 Wyeth 40/129 C 2,620,579 12/1952 Dienes 40/129C 2,821,035 l/1958 Joseph 40/129 A 1,484,231 2/1924 Pistocco 40/128PATENTED UB1 9 I973 FIG.

Ill INVENTOR: ALFRED Noah: a, M- flMM'Z/ WARNING DEVICE This is acontinuation-in-part to my copending application Ser. number 741,970filed on July 2, 1968, now US. Pat. No. 3,594,938, July 27,1971 andentitled Warning Device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to warningdevices adapted for being removably attached to vehicles.

More particularly, this invention relates to attachment means for memberThere are known electrical warning means for a motor vehicle, such astail lights flashers and many other signalling devices which are eitherfixedly attached to the vehicle or depend in their operation on abattery. The failure of the battery, however, is very often the verycause of the vehicle being disabled and, consequently, no warning isgiven to an approaching driver. Similarly, exchangeable battery cells inconventional portable electric warning devices are subject to aging andrequire regular checking and replacement.

Known are also flexible sheet-like signs which can be displayed, securedto a disabled vehicle by means of strings and, after the emergency haspassed, rolled into a compact cylindrical shape.

The disadvantage of the known foldable warning de vices is in the factthat they can be reliably secured to limited areas of the disabledvehicle only, mostly to its rear portion.

If the disabled vehicle has spun around as the result of a skid orcollision, or has turned over on its side or back, in such events it isobvious that the electrical warning devices attached in fixed positionto the cover of the trunk compartment are useless. It is, therefore, anobject of this invention to provide a simple warning device for motorvehicles which can be temporarily secured to any surface portion of themajority of current models of vehicles, regardless of the position thevehicle may occur in after a skid on the road, a collision or othercause.

Another object of this invention is to provide a portable warning devicewhich in use will hook onto the edges of bumpers, grill, licence plate,drip moldings, windows, undersides, wheels, doors etc. of the vehicle.

It is still another object of this invention to provide attachment meansfor the warning device which can be easily manipulated and which enablesit to be attached to different vehicle parts or to be extended forwardto the car into the partly open rear windows of vehicles which have notrunk compartment covers, or if the weather condition does not permit,to open the trunk covers to display the warning sign.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a warning devicewhich, after the emergency has passed, may easily be detached from thevehicle, folded in half and rolled up into a compact cylindrical form,and stored in any suitable place in the vehicle.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a portable warningdevice which can be removed from the vehicle anddisplayed at a suitabledistance away or held by hand to give the warning to the approachingdrivers a safe distance away from the scene of an accident.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the above objectsare attained by providing a warning device for motor vehicles comprisinga substantially rectangular warning sign of flexible, sheet-likematerial, two reinforcing rods each having a flat surface and a convexsurface, the two opposite edges of the sign being affixed to the flatsurfaces; two elastic bands affixed at their ends to the ends ofrespective reinforcing rods for extending adjacent the individual flatsurfaces; hook-like clamping means secured to the elastic bands,respectively, each of the clamping means having a projecting clampmatching the contour of a part of the curved surface of the reinforcingrod. In this manner, clamps are adapted for being either clamped on thereinforcing rods when the warning sign is to be rolled up or for beinghooked up on suitable parts of the disabled vehicle when the warningdevice is displayed.

One of the elastic bands can be divided at its center and provided atthe resulting free ends with annular catch members and the clampingmember is disconnectably attached to the catch members by lateral hooksformed on a coupling plate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING For a better understanding of theinvention, reference may be made to the following description of severalexemplary embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawing in which FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a disabled vehiclehaving a displayed device of this invention attached to its sidesurface;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentaryperspective view of the front part of a disabledvehicle having a displayed device of this invention attached between agrill edge and the open motor hood;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the bottom of a disabledvehicle lying on its side, with the displayed device of this inventionattached between the rear wheels;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the hooklike holding member in connection withcatch members on two elastic band sections;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of the holding member of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a side view of another modification of the hook-like holdingmember in connection with an undivided elastic band;

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of the holding me mber of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the holding members as shown in FIGS. 6 and7;

FIG. 9 is a side view of two abutting reinforcing rods having hexagonalconfiguration;

FIG. 10 is a side view of a modification of the device of this inventionwith longitudinal grooves for elastic strings; and

FIG. 11 is a side view of still another variation of the device of thisinvention with jointed U-shaped supporting rods and having the elasticbands located at the outside of the rods.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now to FIG. 1, a rectangular sheet-likewarning sign 1 of flexible material is removably attached and displayedto the side of a disabled vehicle. The warning sign 1 is provided withsuitable symbols or messages of caution to warn all approachingmotorists of the danger ahead.

The top edge of the warning sign 1 is reinforced by an upper rod 2 andthe bottom edge of the sign 1 is reinforced by an identical lower rod 3.Each of the reinforcing rods 2 and 3 has a longitudinal flat surface anda longitudinal convex (half-round) surface. The edge portions of thesheet-like sign 1 are affixed to respective flat surfaces (as shown inFIGS. 6 and 9). As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the upper reinforcingrod 2 has affixed to the ends thereof respective end portions of elasticband sections 4 and 5. The free ends of the band sections 4 and 5 areprovided with annular catches 8. By means of a hook-like portions 7located at two opposite lateral edges of a coupling plate 6, the catches8 are hooked up to the plate 6, thereby uniting the band sections 4 and5 into a single elastic band extending along the longitudinal flatsurface of the upper rod 2. The upper edge of the coupling plate 6 isintegral with a projecting clamp 9 shaped for matching the contour ofthe convex surface of the rod 2, (as shown with reference to acorresponding clamp 11 in FIG. 6). In the normal position of theconnected elastic band sections 4 and 5, the clamp 9 rests on the curvedsurface of the rod 2.

The lower reinforcing rod 3 has fastened to its end portions the ends ofthe single-piece elastic band which extends in its normal position alongthe flat surface of the bottom reinforcing rod 3. The attachment memberfor the single-piece elastic band 10 differs from the previouslydescribed clamping means 7 to 9 in that its coupling plate 6' is withoutlateral hooks and is provided instead with a snap member 12 for clampingthe plate 6' directly to the central portion of the single-piece elasticband 10 (FIG. 8). The clamp 11, projecting from the coupling plate 6opposite to the snap member 12 is shaped similarly as the clamp 9 formatching the convex surface of the rod 3.

The catches 8 on the ends of band sections 4 and 5 may be also used forremovably attaching the warning device to the vehicle, for example tothe drip molding on the roof, to the upper and lower parts of the doors,windows etc.

The clamps 9 and l l, on the other hand, are intended for grabbing orfor being hooked up to most parts of a vehicle, such as to the bumpersgrill, licence plates, portions of partly open doors, windows,undersides etc.

If desired, the top elastic band sectors 4 and 5 may be replaced by asingle elastic band 10 with a snap-on plate 12, as shown in FIGS. 3, 6and 8.

When the emergency has passed, the elastic bands 4, S and 10 areunhooked from the vehicle, the hookshaped clamps 9 and 11 snap on to thereinforcing rods 2 and 3, respectively. The two reinforcing rods aresubsequently placed flat side against the flat side forming a cylinderonto which the now folded in half sheet-like warning sign is rolled upand placed into a protective tube and may now be stored anywhere in thevehicle, such as for example, on top of the rear seat or inside thetrunk compartment.

A plurality of holes 13 (FIG. 2) may be provided in the upper and lowerreinforcing rods 2 and 3 for the case that the warning device might bepermanently attached to the underside of the trunk cover with suitablefasteners, if so desired. When the trunk is opened and its cover lifted,the warning sign is displayed at all times.

Referring now to FIGS. 9 to 11, there are illustrated variousmodifications of the outwardly projecting convex surface and of thearrangement of the elastic bands according to this invention. The convexlongitudinal surfaces 2' and 3' as shown in FIG. 9 form together ahexagon onto which the sheet-like sign is rolled up. In the modificationof FIG. 10, the outwardly projecting external surfaces 2" and 3" areprovided with grooves or channels 15 for elastic cords or strings 10".As illustrated in FIG. 11, the supporting rods or members 2" and 3" haverectangular cross-sections with rounded edges. The elastic band 10" isprovided with clamping members which snap engage the flat surfaces ofthe supporting snap members 2" and 3".

It will be understood that this invention is not limited to theparticular embodiments described herein and that many modificationsretaining and utilizing the spirit thereof will occur to those skilledin the art. It is therefore contemplated by the appended claims to coverall such modifications as full within the scope and spirit of theinvention.

I claim:

1. In a portable warning device for use in being removably mounted on asupport such as a vehicle, containing a flexible warning sign with anupper edge and a lower edge and being adapted to be rolled up andunrolled, respectively,

two rod-like reinforcements each having a longitudinally extendingconvex external surface and a longitudinally extending flat internalsurface, said upper and lower edges of said sign being connected to theflat surfaces of said reinforcements, respectively, and attachment meanscomprising elastic band means extending along at least a portion of saidlongitudinally extending fiat surfaces of each of said reinforcementsand being secured near their ends to the end portions of saidreinforcemerits;

clamping means respectively coupled to a central portion of said elasticband means of each of said reinforcements, each clamping means includinga projecting attachment portion substantially matching the contour ofsaid longitudinally extending external surface for being clipped theretoduring the rolled-up condition of said warning sign, whereas in theunrolled display condition of said warning sign said clamping meansserve for being disconnectably mounted on a support.

2. In a portable warning device according to claim 1, said clampingmeans further including a flat snap member arranged for attachment tosaid elastic band means.

3. In a portable warning device according to claim I, said attachmentmeans comprising at least one divided elastic band, free end portions ofsaid divided band being provided with catch members respectively, and anattachment clamp including a coupling plate with lateral hook portionsfor connecting said catch membets.

4. In a portable warning device according to claim 1, each of saidconvex external surfaces having a halfround configuration.

5. In a portable warning device according to claim 1, each of saidconvex external surfaces having a semihexagonal configuration.

6. In a portable device according to claim 5, the top surface portionsof said semi-hexagonal convex surfaces being provided with grooves forreceiving said elastic band means.

7. In a portable device according to claim 1, each of said convexexternal surfaces having a U-shaped configuration with a flattened topsurface portion, said upper and lower edges of said sign being connectedto top surface portions.

8. In a portable device according to claim 7, the arms of one of saidU-shaped convex external surfaces being provided with projections forclamping the arms of the said flattened top surface portions,respectively, and 5 other U-shaped surface.

1. In a portable warning device for use in being removably mounted on asupport such as a vehicle, containing a flexible warning sign with anupper edge and a lower edge and being adapted to be rolled up andunrolled, respectively, two rod-like reinforcements each having alongitudinally extending convex external surface and a longitudinallyextending flat internal surface, said upper and lower edges of said signbeing connected to the flat surfaces of said reinforcements,respectively, and attachment means comprising elastic band meansextending along at least a portion of said longitudinally extending flatsurfaces of each of said reinforcements and being secured near theirends to the end portions of said reinforcements; clamping meansrespectively coupled to a central portion of said elastic band means ofeach of said reinforcements, each clamping means including a projectingattachment portion substantially matching the contour of saidlongitudinally extending external surface for being clipped theretoduring the rolled-up condition of said warning sign, whereas in theunrolled display condition of said warning sign said clamping meansserve for being disconnectably mounted on a support.
 2. In a portablewarning device according to claim 1, said clamping means furtherincluding a flat snap member arranged for attachment to said elasticband means.
 3. In a portable warning device according to claim 1, saidattachment means comprising at least one divided elastic band, free endportions of said divided band being provided with catch membersrespectively, and an attachment clamp including a coupling plate withlateral hook portions for connecting said catch members.
 4. In aportable warning device according to claim 1, each of said convexexternal surfaces having a half-round configuration.
 5. In a portablewarning device according to claim 1, each of said convex externalsurfaces having a semi-hexagonal configuration.
 6. In a portable deviceaccording to claim 5, the top surface portions of said semi-hexagonalconvex surfaces being provided with grooves for receiving said elasticband means.
 7. In a portable device according to claim 1, each of saidconvex external surfaces having a U-shaped configuration with aflattened top surface portion, said upper and lower edges of said signbeing connected to said flattened top surface portions, respectively,and said elastic band means extending along said flattened top surfaceportions.
 8. In a portable device according to claim 7, the arms of oneof said U-shaped convex external surfaces being provided withprojections for clamping the arms of the other U-shaped surface.